Wireless broadband communication method, device, and system, for establishing a user plane connection between a small cell and a user equipment

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention provide a wireless broadband communication method, device, and system. The method provided in an embodiment of the present invention includes: establishing, by a macro base station, a Radio Resource Control RRC connection with a user equipment UE; receiving, by a small cell, a configuration message sent, through a wired or wireless interface, by the macro base station; and establishing, by the small cell, a user plane connection between the small cell and the UE based on the RRC connection and the configuration message, and establishing a data bearer with the UE on the user plane connection.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/340,211, filed on Nov. 1, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/155,279, filed on Jan. 14, 2014, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,516,550, issued Dec. 6, 2016, which is a continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/CN2012/077053, filed on Jun. 16, 2012.The international Application claims priority to Chinese PatentApplication No. 201110199326.8, filed on Jul. 15, 2011. All of theafore-mentioned patent applications are hereby incorporated by referencein their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

With the development of science and technologies, people haveincreasingly high requirements for mobile communications services andquality. The research focuses on improving transmission quality andlowering operating expense using limited spectrum resources.

At present, mobile communications based on wireless technologies havefound wide applications in the markets for indoor applications andoutdoor applications. Wireless technologies are used in such a greatscale, and currently the driving force for the development of mobilecommunications also comes from the demands for broadband data services,which causes a considerable impact on public mobile wireless networks,especially on long term evolution technologies (LTE) that are alsotargeted in indoor scenarios.

In the prior art, the logical architecture of an LTE Home eNodeB isconnected to a mobility management entity (MME) through an S1 interface.Because the number of LTE Home eNodeBs is large, if LTE Home eNodeBs aredirectly connected to an MME through an S1 interface, both theperformance and cost of the MME are influenced significantly. Therefore,by standard, one intermediate node, that is, one Home eNB gateway (HeNBGW), is added between an MME and an LTE Home eNodeB to avoid too many S1interfaces on the MME.

As for functions, a Home eNB has functions identical to those of acommon base station, and fails to meet the demands in increasingbandwidth and capacity and at the same time lowering cost innext-generation mobile broadband communications technologies.

BACKGROUND

With the development of science and technologies, people haveincreasingly high requirements for mobile communications services andquality. The research focuses on improving transmission quality andlowering operating expense using limited spectrum resources.

At present, mobile communications based on wireless technologies havefound wide applications in the markets for indoor applications andoutdoor applications. Wireless technologies are used in such a greatscale, and currently the driving force for the development of mobilecommunications also comes from the demands for broadband data services,which causes a considerable impact on public mobile wireless networks,especially on long term evolution technologies (LTE) that are alsotargeted in indoor scenarios.

In the prior art, the logical architecture of an LTE Home eNodeB isconnected to a mobility management entity (MME) through an S1 interface.Because the number of LTE Home eNodeBs is large, if LTE Home eNodeBs aredirectly connected to an MME through an S1 interface, both theperformance and cost of the MME are influenced significantly. Therefore,by standard, one intermediate node, that is, one Home eNB gateway (HeNBGW), is added between an MME and an LTE Home eNodeB to avoid too many S1interfaces on the MME.

As for functions, a Home eNB has functions identical to those of acommon base station, and fails to meet the demands in increasingbandwidth and capacity and at the same time lowering cost innext-generation mobile broadband communications technologies.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide a wireless broadbandcommunication method, device, and system, so as to increase bandwidthand capacity of mobile broadband communications and at the same timelower cost.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a user equipment (UE).The user equipment includes a third connection establishment unit,adapted to establish a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with amacro base station. The user equipment also includes a reconfigurationmessage receiving unit, adapted to receive an RRC reconfigurationmessage sent by the macro base station to the UE after the thirdconnection establishment unit has established the RRC connection. Theuser equipment also includes a second connection and bearerestablishment unit, adapted to establish a user plane connection with asmall cell through an air interface based on the RRC reconfigurationmessage received by the reconfiguration message receiving unit, andestablish a data bearer with the small cell on the user planeconnection.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a wireless broadbandcommunication method. The method includes establishing, by a userequipment (UE), a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a macrobase station. The method also includes receiving an RRC reconfigurationmessage sent by the macro base station to the UE after the UE hasestablished the RRC connection. The method also includes establishing,by the UE, a user plane connection with a small cell through an airinterface based on the RRC reconfiguration message, and establishing adata bearer with the small cell on the user plane connection.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a macro base station.The macro base station includes: a second connection establishment unit,adapted to establish a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with aUE. The macro base station also includes a configuration message sendingunit, adapted to send an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE through awireless interface, and send a configuration message to a small cellthrough a wired or wireless interface after the second connectionestablishment unit has established the RRC connection, where the RRCreconfiguration message and the configuration message are used for thesmall cell and the UE to establish a user plane connection.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a wireless broadbandcommunication method. The method includes establishing, by a macro basestation, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a UE. The methodalso includes sending, by the macro base station, an RRC reconfigurationmessage to the UE through a wireless interface, and sending aconfiguration message to a small cell through a wired or wirelessinterface, where the RRC reconfiguration message and the configurationmessage are used for the small cell and the UE to establish a user planeconnection.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a small cell. The smallcell include: a configuration message receiving unit, configured toreceive a configuration message sent, through a wired or wirelessinterface, by a macro base station. The small cell also includes a firstconnection and bearer establishment unit, adapted to establish a userplane connection between the small cell and a UE based on theconfiguration message received by the configuration message receivingunit, and establish a data bearer with the UE on the user planeconnection.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a wireless broadbandcommunication method. The method includes: receiving, by a small cell, aconfiguration message sent, through a wired or wireless interface, by amacro base station. The method also includes establishing, by the smallcell, a user plane connection between the small cell and a UE based onthe configuration message, and establishing a data bearer with the UE onthe user plane connection.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a wireless broadbandcommunication system, which includes: the foregoing small cell and theforegoing macro base station.

Compared with the prior art, in the method, device, and system providedin the embodiments of the present invention, a user equipment (UE) firstestablishes a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a macro basestation, and the macro base station then performs resource configurationon a small cell, and establishes a user plane connection between the UEand the small cell, so that the effect of traffic splitting for userplane data is achieved, bandwidth and capacity of mobile broadbandcommunications are increased, and cost is lowered.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the presentinvention or in the prior art more clearly, the following brieflyintroduces the accompanying drawings required for describing theembodiments or the prior art. Apparently, the accompanying drawings inthe following description show merely some embodiments of the presentinvention, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may still deriveother drawings from these accompanying drawings without creativeefforts.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a wireless broadband communication methodaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a network topology diagram according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is another network topology diagram according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of a protocol stack according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of another protocol stack according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of another protocol stack according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a structural diagram of another protocol stack according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of signaling interaction of a wireless broadbandcommunication method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of signaling interaction of a wireless broadbandcommunication method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of another wireless broadband communicationmethod according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is another network topology diagram according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 12 is another network topology diagram according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a structural diagram of another protocol stack according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a structural diagram of another protocol stack according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a structural diagram of another protocol stack according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a structural diagram of another protocol stack according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a diagram of signaling interaction of another wirelessbroadband communication method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 18 is a structural diagram of a small cell for wireless broadbandcommunication according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a structural diagram of another small cell for wirelessbroadband communication according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 is a structural diagram of a macro base station for wirelessbroadband communication according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 21 is a structural diagram of a UE according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 22 is a structural diagram of another UE according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a structural diagram of a wireless broadband communicationsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a structural diagram of another wireless broadbandcommunication system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 25 is a flow chart of another wireless broadband communicationmethod according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 26 is a flow chart of another wireless broadband communicationmethod according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a wireless broadband communication methodaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. This embodimentincludes the following.

Step 101. A macro base station establishes a Radio Resource Control(RRC) connection with a user equipment (UE).

Step 102. A small cell receives a configuration message sent, through awired or wireless interface, by the macro base station.

Step 103. The small cell establishes a user plane connection between thesmall cell and the UE based on the configuration message, andestablishes a data bearer with the UE on the user plane connection.

The execution subject in this embodiment of the present invention is asmall cell. A small cell may be a picocell (Pico), a femtocell (Femto),a low mobility cell (Low Mobility, LoMo), other local wireless accesspoints (AP), or a UE having a device-to-device (D2D) function. In thisembodiment, for example, the small cell is a LoMo.

A macro base station is mainly adapted to implement a control planefunction of the UE, which includes a mobility management function of theUE. The LoMo is mainly adapted to bear an indoor low mobility dataservice, so as to implement a user plane function. Specifically, aseparate transfer manner is adopted, in which different paths are usedfor transfer of user plane data and transfer of control plane data foran air interface. That is, a link from the LoMo to the UE only transmitsuser plane data, whereas control plane signaling from the LoMo to the UEis established through a link from the macro base station to the UE.

As shown in FIG. 2, the macro base station is directly connected to theUE through an air interface without a LoMo. The LoMo establishes an RRCconnection through such an interface between the macro base station andthe UE. The macro base station is connected to the LoMo through a wiredor wireless interface. The wired interface includes: an S1 interfacebetween a base station and a mobility management entity (MME), and/or anX2 interface between base stations, and/or a common public radiointerface (CPRI), and/or an Iub interface between a wireless networkcontroller and a base station. The LoMo receives, through such aninterface, a configuration message sent by the macro base stationthrough a wired or wireless interface. The wireless interface includes:a Uu interface between a base station and a UE and/or a microwaveinterface for base station transmission. The data bearer between theLoMo and the UE is configured by the foregoing interface between themacro base station and the UE.

After receiving the user plane data of the UE through the data bearer,the LoMo can send the user plane data to the macro base station throughthe wired or wireless interface between the macro base station and theLoMo in FIG. 2, so as to enable the macro base station to forward theuser plane data of the UE to a core network element. Alternatively, theuser plane data of the UE can further be directly sent to the corenetwork element through the interface between the core network elementand the LoMo in FIG. 3. The core network element in FIG. 3 is a servicegateway S-GW.

If the LoMo performs data transmission with the core network elementdirectly, the LoMo needs to inform the mobility management entity MME ofthe address of the LoMo. The MME informs the core network element. TheMME then informs the macro base station of an address of the corenetwork element, and the macro base station forwards the address to theLoMo. The foregoing address may include: a Transport Network Layeraddress (TNL) address, a General Packet Radio Service TunnelingProtocol-Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (GTP-TEID) and/or an InternetProtocol (IP) address.

A protocol stack of an air interface between a LoMo and a UE may onlyinclude: the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control(RLC) layer protocol, Media Access Control (MAC) layer protocol, andLayer 1 (L1) protocol; and/or does not include: the Radio ResourceControl (RRC) layer protocol. That is, on a control plane, simplifiedprotocol stack architecture can be adopted for a protocol stack of anair interface between a LoMo and a UE, for example, no RRC protocolentity is provided, as shown in FIG. 4, on a user plane, an originaluser plane protocol stack PDCP/RLC/MAC may be adopted for a LoMo and aUE, and only the functions are tailored, as shown in FIG. 5.

For a control plane protocol stack between a LoMo and a UE, the PDCP,RLC, and MAC may be further combined into one new layer entity, as shownin FIG. 6. For a user plane protocol stack between a LoMo and a UE, thePDCP, RLC, and MAC may be further combined into one new layer entity, asshown in FIG. 7.

When a small cell is a UE having a D2D function, before step 101, thefollowing step may be further included: Step 104. When the small cell isnear the UE, the UE initiates an RRC connection to the macro basestation to establish a service. The macro base station determines thatdata requested by the UE is stored in the small cell. That is, when ithas been determined that data requested by the UE is present in a nearbysmall cell, the macro base station directly enables the small cell totransmit the data to the UE.

The foregoing configuration message may further include: allocationinformation for a static or semi-static configuration resource; resourceallocation information for random access on the static or semi-staticconfiguration resource or resource allocation information for randomaccess and data scheduling. If the configuration message only includesthe resource allocation information for random access, after the smallcell has established the data bearer with the UE on the user planeconnection, it is further included that: the small cell sends to the UEthe resource allocation information for random access on the static orsemi-static configuration resource through the established data bearer.If the configuration message includes the static or semi-static resourceallocation information for random access and data scheduling, after thesmall cell has established the data bearer with the UE on the user planeconnection, it is further included that: the small cell sends to the UEthe resource allocation information for random access and datascheduling on the static or semi-static configuration resourceconfiguration resource through the established data bearer. Ifcongestion occurs during random access or random access and datascheduling based on the resource allocation information, it is furtherincluded that: the small cell reapplies for a static or semi-staticconfiguration resource from the macro base station; or the small cellinstructs the macro base station to hand over the UE to the macro basestation; or the small cell adopts a dynamic scheduling manner for newaccess where resource congestion occurs.

The functions of the macro base station and the LoMo are compared in thefollowing table. The LoMo column lists the functions capable of beingsimplified of a LoMo.

TABLE 1 Function Comparison Table of a Macro Base Station and a LoMoCompared Items eNB LoMo Random access channel Contention access/non-Non-contention access only (RACH) contention access Hybrid automaticHARQ Simple HARQ, for example, retransmission (HARQ) fewerretransmission times Scheduling mechanism Dynamic scheduling/semi-staticSimple scheduling scheduling (SPS) Uplink scheduling Buffer statusreport (BSR)/power For example, no power information headroom reportheadroom report (PHR)/scheduling priority level processing DRX(discontinuous Long and short DRX periods For example, a longer DRXreception) period

Compared with the prior art, in the method provided in the embodiment ofthe present invention, a small cell may establish a Radio ResourceControl (RRC) connection with a user equipment UE through a macro basestation, and the macro base station then configures the small cell, sothat the procedure of establishing an RRC connection with a UE isomitted and cost is lowered. Next, the small cell establishes a databearer with the UE to share data traffic with the macro base station, sothat bandwidth and capacity of mobile broadband communications areincreased.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of signaling interaction of a wireless broadbandcommunication method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. This embodiment includes the following.

Step 801. A UE does not directly access a LoMo, and instead, when a UEinitiates a service, establishes an RRC connection with a macro basestation first and performs normal authentication and encryption.

Step 802. The macro base station performs RRC reconfiguration on the UEto establish a corresponding second signaling radio bearer SRB 2, dataradio bearer DRB, measurement control configuration, and the like; afterreceiving an RRC reconfiguration message (RRC reconfiguration), the UEperforms bottom layer configuration, which includes radio resourceconfiguration, measurement configuration, and the like.

Step 803. The macro base station needs to complete, while sending theRRC reconfiguration message (RRC reconfiguration), the configuration ofa bottom layer user plane protocol stack (including the PDCP, RLC, andMAC) or a newly defined user plane entity (new MAC) of the LoMo throughone newly defined interface (simple IF). A configuration messagetransferred by the interface (simple IF) includes: radio resourceconfiguration (logical channel configuration, transmission channelconfiguration, and physical channel configuration), measurementconfiguration, and the like.

Specifically, in an indoor coverage scenario, the number of UEs issmall, and the radio resource configuration may be a static orsemi-static RACH resource and/or a static or semi-static physicaltransmission resource. The static or semi-static resource information isset according to a resource use condition of resident users under an AP.

Here, steps 802 and 803 may be performed at the same time or performedin sequence.

Step 804. The UE and the LoMo feed a configuration response message backto the macro base station, respectively.

According to the different information transferred by the interface(simple IF), three choices are as follows.

Choice 1: Only a static or semi-static RACH resource is included, andsubsequently scheduled information is then informed by the LoMo througha MAC CE (MAC control element).

Choice 2: The configuration message includes static or semi-staticresource information for random access and subsequent scheduling of theUE, and if congestion occurs in resource allocation, the LoMo reappliesfor semi-static resource allocation from the macro base station or handsover the UE to the macro base station.

Choice 3: The configuration message includes static semi-static resourceinformation for random access and subsequent scheduling of the UE, andif resource congestion occurs during the subsequent access of the UE, adynamic scheduling manner is adopted for access after the resourcecongestion has occurred.

Step 805. The UE and the LoMo establish a user plane bearer.

The relationship between this embodiment and the embodiment in FIG.flies in that, in this embodiment, that the small cell receives theconfiguration message sent, through a wired or wireless interface, bythe macro base station, and performs configuration based on theconfiguration message includes: the small cell receives user planeprotocol configuration information sent, through a wired or wirelessinterface, by the macro base station, and the small cell configures aradio resource and a measurement parameter for establishing a user planeconnection with the UE.

Compared with the prior art, in the method provided in the embodiment ofthe present invention, a small cell may establish a Radio ResourceControl (RRC) connection with a user equipment (UE) through a macro basestation, and the macro base station then configures the small cell, sothat the procedure of establishing an RRC connection with a UE isomitted and cost is lowered. Next, the small cell establishes a databearer with the UE to share data traffic with the macro base station, sothat bandwidth and capacity of mobile broadband communications areincreased.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of signaling interaction of a wireless broadbandcommunication method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. This embodiment includes the following.

Step 901. A UE establishes an RRC connection with a macro base stationfirst.

Step 902. The macro base station determines, according to servicequality (QoS), a scheduling policy, and/or channel quality, and the likeof a service, whether one secondary component carrier (SCC) needs to beconfigured.

Step 903. The macro base station performs SCC relevant configuration onthe UE through dedicated signaling configuration.

Step 904. The macro base station configures a LoMo through a newlydefined interface message, and the LoMo receives an SCC configurationmessage of the macro base station.

Step 905. Send an activation message to the UE through the MAC CE of theLoMo.

Step 906. After receiving the activation message, the UE performs randomaccess of the LoMo and obtains a new second cell-radio network temporaryidentifier (C-RNTI 2).

Step 907. IP data traffic splitting is performed at the macro basestation of the LTE for the downlink data, services having high QoSrequirements such as speech and video are still scheduled by primarycomponent carriers PCCs, and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)scrambling is performed by adopting a first cell-radio network temporaryidentifier C-RNTI 1 allocated by the RRC connection; services having lowQos requirements are provided by SCCs, and pdcch scrambling is performedby adopting the C-RNTI 2 obtained through random access of the LoMo.

The relationship between this embodiment and the embodiment in FIG. 1 inthat, in this embodiment, that a small cell receives a configurationmessage sent, through a wired or wireless interface, by a macro basestation, and performs configuration based on the configuration messageincludes: the small cell receives SCC configuration information sent,through a wired or wireless interface, by the macro base station, andthe small cell configures an SCC for establishing a user planeconnection with the UE.

In this embodiment, the correlation between a PCC and an SCC ispermanent, that is to say, the link between a UE and a macro basestation is always a PCC, and the link between a UE and a LoMo is alwaysan SCC.

Compared with the prior art, in the method provided in the embodiment ofthe present invention, a small cell may establish a Radio ResourceControl (RRC) connection with a user equipment (UE) through a macro basestation, and the macro base station then configures the small cell, sothat the procedure of establishing an RRC connection with a UE isomitted and cost is lowered. Next, the small cell establishes a databearer with the UE to share data traffic with the macro base station, sothat bandwidth and capacity of mobile broadband communications areincreased.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of another wireless broadband communicationmethod according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thisembodiment includes the following.

Step 1001. A small cell receives a synchronization signal Preamble sentin a first message by a UE in an idle state, and the small celldetermines that the Preamble is a dedicated Preamble; and/or the smallcell receives a display indication using a simplified RRC procedure.

Step 1002. The small cell responds in a second message indicationinformation about that a first signaling radio bearer SRB 1 and/orsecond signaling radio bearer SRB 2 does not need to be reestablished ormodified.

Step 1003. Instruct the UE to access a network through the small cell.

The execution subject in this embodiment of the present invention is asmall cell. The small cell may be: a picocell (Pico), a femtocell(Femto), or other local wireless access points (AP) and low mobilitycells (Low Mobility, LoMo). In this embodiment, for example, the smallcell is a LoMo.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the LoMo may be located at acoverage hole of the macro base station. The UE can separately reside onthe LoMo.

As shown in FIG. 11, the macro base station is connected to the LoMothrough a wired or wireless interface. The wired interface may includean S1 interface between a base station and a mobility management entity(MME), and/or an X2 interface between base stations, and/or a commonpublic radio interface (CPRI), and/or an Iub interface between awireless network controller and a base station. The LoMo receives,through such an interface, a configuration message sent by the macrobase station through a wired or wireless interface. The wirelessinterface includes a Uu interface between a base station and a UE and/ora microwave interface for base station transmission. The LoMo may alsobe connected to the UE through an air interface without a macro basestation, and such an interface bears a signaling and data bearer betweenthe UE and the LoMo.

The LoMo may send, after receiving the user plane data of the UE throughthe data bearer, the user plane data to the macro base station throughthe wired or wireless interface between the macro base station and theLoMo in FIG. 11, so that the macro base station forwards the user planedata of the UE to a core network element; or, further directly send theuser plane data of the UE to the core network element through theinterface between the core network element and the LoMo in FIG. 12. Thecore network element in FIG. 12 is a service gateway (S-GW).

If the LoMo performs data transmission with the core network elementdirectly, the LoMo needs to inform the mobility management entity (MME)of the address of the LoMo. The MME informs the core network element.The MME then informs the macro base station of an address of the corenetwork element, and the macro base station forwards the address to theLoMo. The foregoing address may include a TNL address, a GTP-TEID,and/or an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

A protocol stack of an air interface between a LoMo and a UE may onlyinclude: On a control plane, simplified protocol stack architecture canbe adopted for a protocol stack of an air interface between a LoMo and aUE, for example, a simplified RRC protocol entity is provided, as shownin FIG. 13. As for functions, the simplified RRC procedure shown in FIG.10 may be adopted. On a user plane, an original user plane protocolstack PDCP/RLC/MAC may be adopted for a LoMo and a UE, and only thefunctions are tailored. The protocol stack is shown in FIG. 14, and thesimplified part of functions is shown in Table 1.

A control plane protocol stack between a LoMo and a UE can furthercombine the PDCP, RLC, and MAC into a new layer entity, as shown in FIG.15. A user plane protocol stack between a LoMo and a UE can furthercombine the PDCP, RLC, and MAC into a new layer entity, as shown in FIG.16.

The foregoing network configuration includes at least one of thefollowing: logical channel configuration, signaling radio bearer (SRB)configuration, MAC layer configuration, semi-static schedulingconfiguration, physical channel configuration, and an RRC message timerparameter.

If handover between small cells or handover from a small cell to a macrobase station or handover from a macro base station to a small cell needsto be executed, after the instructing the UE to access the networkthrough the small cell, the following steps are further included.

Step 1004. The small cell receives measurement control information sentby a macro base station and forwards the measurement control informationto the UE.

Step 1005. Receive a measurement report fed back by the UE and forwardthe measurement report to the macro base station.

Step 1006. If the macro base station judges that handover needs to beperformed, a handover instruction sent by the macro base station needsto be received.

In the method provided in the embodiment of the present invention, asmall cell learns whether a UE needs to reestablish or modify an SRB 1and/or an SRB 2 through determining a Preamble or display indicationsent by a UE, if it is determined not, directly responds that an SRB 1and/or SRB 2 does not need to be reestablished or modified, andinstructs the UE to access the network, so that the procedure ofestablishing an SRB 1 and/or SRB 2 is omitted and cost is lowered. Next,the UE accesses the network through the small cell to share data trafficwith the macro base station, so that bandwidth and capacity of mobilebroadband communications are increased.

FIG. 17 is a diagram of signaling interaction of another wirelessbroadband communication method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. This embodiment includes the following.

Step 1701. A UE accesses a LoMo and sends a Preamble or displayindication to the LoMo.

Step 1702. The LoMo determines that an SRB 1 and/or SRB 2 does not needto be reestablished or modified.

Step 1703. The LoMo feeds back that the SRB 1 and/or SRB 2 does not needto be reestablished or modified.

Step 1704. The UE accesses a network and notifies that networkconnection has been established through one uplink RRC message, theuplink RRC message including carrying a connection request cause, aresided PLMN network, and the like.

In consideration of scenarios of low mobility and indoor coverage for aUE, both the state of a UE and the state of a network probably do notchange much, and therefore default configuration can be adopted for manyconfigurations, including logical channel configuration (a transmissionmode, a logical channel priority level, and the like), SRB configuration(a logical channel number, an configuration parameter of an RLC, alogical channel group, a logical channel priority level, a priority bitrate, and the like), MAC layer configuration (configurations such aswhether TTI bundling is supported, HARQ maximum retransmission times, abuffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), discontinuousreception (DRX)), semi-static scheduling configuration, physical channelconfiguration, and timer parameters of some RRC messages.

After the UE enters the LoMo to acquire the configuration initially, theUE stores the configurations for use next time. For access a next time,because both the state of the UE and the state of the network onlychange a little, the procedure of establishing an RRC connection can besignificantly simplified.

A user in an idle state accesses the LoMo and initiates a dedicatedrandom access or display indication. The LoMo can identify the UEaccording to the dedicated preamble code.

The LoMo responds a random access response message (random accessresponse) according to the identity of the UE, and in the message a bitis used for representing whether the configuration of the SRB 1 and/orSRB 2 changes. The UE determines whether a default configuration can beused for dedicated resource configuration of the UE according to thebit.

If the configurations are same, it indicates that the UE does not needto reestablish the SRB 1 and/or SRB 2. After random access is completed,the UE can directly send an uplink RRC message and do not need toprocess an RRC connection again. Such an uplink RRC message may be a newmessage or may also reuse an existing RRC connection complete (RRCconnection complete) message or an RRC connection request (RRCconnection request) message, which contains a UE ID, an establishmentcause, a selected carrier network PLMN, a dedicated NAS message, and thelike. The modification procedure is shown in the following figures.

If handover occurs, for all the following handover types, handoverjudgment and admission control take place on a macro base station, asshown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12: handover from a LoMo to a macro basestation; handover from a macro base station to a LoMo; and handover froma LoMo to another LoMo.

In a process that a UE is handed over from an LTE LoMo to an LTE macrobase station, the LTE macro base station first sends a new interfacecontained measurement control (New IF contained Measurement Control)message to the LTE LoMo. The LTE LoMo then sends a measurement controlmessage to control the corresponding UE to perform measurement and senda measurement report. After receiving the corresponding measurementreport, the LTE LoMo sends a new interface contained measurement report(New IF message contained Measurement report) to the LTE macro basestation. The LTE macro base station performs handover judgment, and ifaccess of the UE is allowed, sends a new interface contained handovercommand (New IF message contained Handover Command) to the LTE LoMo. TheLTE LoMo sends a handover command to the corresponding UE. The UE ishanded over to the coverage of the corresponding LTE macro base station.After the connection with the LTE macro base station has beenestablished, the LTE macro base station instructs the LoMo to releasethe corresponding resource.

In the process that a UE is handed over from an LTE macro base stationto an LTE LoMo, the LTE macro base station first sends a MeasurementControl message to control the corresponding UE to perform measurementand send a measurement report, and then can further acquire a loadcondition of the corresponding LoMo, perform handover judgment, and whenit is confirmed that handover corresponding to the LoMo is required,send a Handover Command to the corresponding UE and LoMo. The UE thensends a handover confirm to the LoMo. After receiving the correspondingmessage, the LoMo sends a resource release request to the LTE macro basestation. In the end, the LTE macro base station releases thecorresponding resource.

In the method provided in the embodiment of the present invention, asmall cell learns whether a UE needs to reestablish or modify an SRB 1and/or SRB 2 through determining a Preamble sent by the UE, if it isdetermined not, directly responds that the SRB 1 and/or SRB 2 does notneed to be reestablished or modified, and instructs the UE to access anetwork, so that the procedure of establishing an SRB 1 and/or SRB 2 isomitted and cost is lowered. The UE then accesses a network through thesmall cell to share data traffic with the macro base station, so thatbandwidth and capacity of mobile broadband communications are increased.

FIG. 18 is a structural diagram of a small cell for wireless broadbandcommunication according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thisembodiment includes the following.

A first connection establishment module 1801 is adapted to establish aRadio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a user equipment (UE)through a macro base station.

A configuration message receiving module 1802 is adapted to receive aconfiguration message sent, through a wired or wireless interface, bythe macro base station after the first connection establishment modulehas established the RRC connection.

A first connection and bearer establishment module 1803 is adapted toestablish a user plane connection between the small cell and the UEbased on the RRC connection and the configuration message received bythe configuration message receiving module, and establish a data bearerwith the UE on the user plane connection.

The small cell in the embodiment of the present invention can be adaptedto execute the method in the corresponding embodiment shown in FIG. 1, 8or 9.

In the small cell in the embodiment of the present invention thefollowing may be included.

The configuration message receiving module can be adapted to: receiveuser plane protocol configuration information sent, through a wired orwireless interface, by the macro base station after the first connectionestablishment module has established the RRC connection, so that thesmall cell further includes: a radio resource and measurement parameterconfiguration module, adapted to configure a radio resource and ameasurement parameter for establishing the user plane connection withthe UE according to the user plane protocol configuration informationreceived by the configuration message receiving module; or theconfiguration message receiving module is adapted to: receive secondarycomponent carrier SCC configuration information sent, through a wired orwireless interface, by the macro base station, so that the small cellfurther includes: an activation module, adapted to activate a secondarycomponent carrier SCC for establishing the user plane connection withthe UE according to the secondary component carrier SCC configurationinformation received by the configuration message receiving module.

The small cell in the embodiment of the present invention may furtherinclude the following.

A data transmission module 1804 is adapted to transmit user plane databetween the UE and a core network element through the data bearerestablished by the first connection and bearer establishment module;where the user plane data between the UE and the core network element isdirectly transmitted through the small cell; or the user plane databetween the UE and the core network element is transmitted through apath of the UE, the small cell, the macro base station, and the corenetwork element.

In the small cell in the embodiment of the present invention: the wiredinterface may include a random one of or a random combination of severalof the following: an S1 interface between a base station and a mobilitymanagement entity (MME), an X2 interface between base stations, a commonpublic radio interface (CPRI), and an Iub interface between a wirelessnetwork controller and a base station.

The wireless interface may include: a Uu interface between a basestation and a UE and/or a microwave interface for base stationtransmission.

In the small cell in the embodiment of the present invention, a protocolstack of an air interface between the small cell and the UE, onlyincludes the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control(RLC) layer protocol, Media Access Control (MAC) layer protocol, andLayer 1 (L1) protocol; and/or does not include the Radio ResourceControl (RRC) layer protocol.

In the small cell in the embodiment of the present invention, theconfiguration message receiving module may be further adapted to:receive allocation information of a static or semi-static configurationresource after the first connection establishment module has establishedthe RRC connection; and receive resource allocation information forrandom access on the static or semi-static configuration resource orresource allocation information for random access and data schedulingafter the first connection establishment module has established the RRCconnection.

If the configuration message receiving module is adapted to receive theresource allocation information for random access, the small cell in theembodiment of the present invention may further include the following.

An allocation information sending module 1805 is adapted to send to theUE the resource allocation information for data scheduling on the staticor semi-static configuration resource through the established databearer.

In the small cell in the embodiment of the present invention, theallocation information sending module may be further adapted to send tothe UE the resource allocation information for random access on thestatic or semi-static configuration resource through the establisheddata bearer.

The small cell in the embodiment of the present invention may furtherinclude: a reapplication module 1806, adapted to perform random accessbased on the resource allocation information received by theconfiguration message receiving module, or reapplies for a static orsemi-static configuration resource from the macro base station whencongestion occurs in random access and data scheduling; or a handoverinstruction module 1807, adapted to perform random access based on theresource allocation information received by the configuration messagereceiving module, or instruct the macro base station to hand over the UEto the macro base station when congestion occurs in random access anddata scheduling; or a dynamic scheduling module 1808, adapted to performrandom access based on the resource allocation information received bythe configuration message receiving module, or adopt a dynamicscheduling manner for new access where resource congestion occurs whencongestion occurs in random access and data scheduling.

In the small cell in the embodiment of the present invention, the smallcell may include a random one of the following: a picocell (Pico), afemtocell (Femto), a low mobility cell (LoMo), a local wireless accesspoint (AP), a UE having a device-to-device D2D function, and a low powernode low power node.

Compared with the prior art, in the small cell provided in theembodiment of the present invention, a macro base station establishes aRadio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a user equipment (UE), andthe macro base station then configures the small cell, so that theprocedure of establishing an RRC connection with a UE is omitted andcost is lowered. Next, the small cell establishes a data bearer with theUE to share data traffic with the macro base station, so that bandwidthand capacity of mobile broadband communications are increased.

FIG. 19 is a structural diagram of another small cell for wirelessbroadband communication according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. This embodiment includes the following.

A synchronization signal receiving module 1901 is adapted to receive asynchronization signal Preamble sent in a first message by a UE in anidle state, where the small cell determines that the Preamble is adedicated Preamble; and/or a display indication receiving module isadapted to receive a display indication using a simplified RRCprocedure.

A response module 1902 is adapted to respond in a second messageindication information about that a first signaling radio bearer SRB 1and/or second signaling radio bearer SRB 2 does not need to bereestablished or modified.

An instruction module 1903 is adapted to instruct the UE to access anetwork through the small cell.

The small cell in the embodiment of the present invention may furtherinclude the following.

A user plane data receiving module 1904 is adapted to receive user planedata of the UE.

A user plane data sending module 1905 is adapted to send the user planedata of the UE to a macro base station, so that the macro base stationforwards the user plane data of the UE to a core network element, oradapted to send the user plane data of the UE to a core network element.

The small cell in the embodiment of the present invention may furtherinclude the following.

A measurement control information forwarding module 1906 is adapted toreceive measurement control information sent by the macro base stationand forward the measurement control information to the UE.

A measurement report forwarding module 1907 is adapted to receive ameasurement report fed back by the UE and forward the measurement reportthe macro base station.

A handover instruction receiving module 1908 is adapted to receive ahandover instruction sent by the macro base station if the macro basestation judges that handover is required.

The small cell in the embodiment of the present invention may include arandom one of the following: a picocell (Pico), a femtocell (Femto), alow mobility cell (LoMo), and a local wireless access point (AP).

In the small cell provided in the embodiment of the present invention,it is learned whether a UE needs to reestablish or modify an SRB 1and/or SRB 2 through determining a Preamble sent by a UE, if it isdetermined not, it is directly responded that the SRB 1 and/or SRB 2does not need to be reestablished or modified, and the UE is instructedto access a network, so that the procedure of establishing an SRB 1and/or SRB 2 is omitted and cost is lowered. The UE then accesses anetwork through the small cell to share data traffic with the macro basestation, so that bandwidth and capacity of mobile broadbandcommunications are increased.

FIG. 20 is a structural diagram of a macro base station for wirelessbroadband communication according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. This embodiment includes the following.

A second connection establishment module 2001 is adapted to establish aRadio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a UE.

A configuration message sending module 2002 is adapted to send an RRCreconfiguration message to the UE through a wireless interface after thesecond connection establishment module has established the RRCconnection, and send a configuration message to a small cell through awired or wireless interface, so that the small cell establishes a userplane connection with the UE.

The macro base station in the embodiment of the present invention can beadapted to execute the method in the corresponding embodiment shown inFIG. 25.

In the macro base station in the embodiment of the present invention,the configuration message sending module may be adapted to: send an RRCreconfiguration message to the UE through a wireless interface after thesecond connection establishment module has established the RRCconnection, and send user plane protocol configuration informationthrough a wired or wireless interface, so that the small cellestablishes the user plane connection with the UE; or send an RRCreconfiguration message to the UE through a wireless interface through awired or wireless interface after the second connection establishmentmodule has established the RRC connection, and send secondary componentcarrier SCC configuration information, so that the small cellestablishes the user plane connection with the UE.

In the macro base station in the embodiment of the present invention thefollowing may be included.

The wired interface may include a random one of or a random combinationof several of the following: an S1 interface between a base station anda mobility management entity (MME), an X2 interface between basestations, a common public radio interface (CPRI), and an Iub interfacebetween a wireless network controller and a base station.

The wireless interface may include: a Uu interface between a basestation and a UE and/or a microwave interface for base stationtransmission.

In the macro base station in the embodiment of the present invention,the configuration message sending module may be further adapted to: sendallocation information of a static or semi-static configuration resourceafter the second connection establishment module has established the RRCconnection; and send resource allocation information for random accesson the static or semi-static configuration resource or resourceallocation information for random access and data scheduling after thesecond connection establishment module has established the RRCconnection.

The macro base station in the embodiment of the present invention mayfurther include: an application receiving module 2003, adapted toreceive an application for a static or semi-static configurationresource from the small cell; or a handover instruction receiving module2004, adapted to receive an instruction of handing over the UE to themacro base station.

Compared with the prior art, the macro base station provided in theembodiment of the present invention can establish an RRC connectionbetween a UE and a picocell and then configure a small cell, so that thepicocell establishes a data bearer with the UE, and the picocell sharesthe data traffic of the macro base station; therefore, bandwidth andcapacity of mobile broadband communications are increased, and theoverall cost of the system is low.

FIG. 21 is a structural diagram of a UE according to an embodiment ofthe present invention. This embodiment includes the following.

A third connection establishment module 2101 is adapted to establish aRadio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a macro base station.

A reconfiguration message receiving module 2102 is adapted to receive anRRC reconfiguration message sent by the macro base station to the UEafter the third connection establishment module has established the RRCconnection.

A second connection and bearer establishment module 2103 is adapted toestablish a user plane connection with the small cell based on the RRCreconfiguration message received by the reconfiguration messagereceiving module, and establish a data bearer with the small cell on theuser plane connection.

The UE in the embodiment of the present invention can be adapted toexecute the method in the corresponding embodiment shown in FIG. 26.

In the user equipment in the embodiment of the present invention, aprotocol stack of an air interface between the small cell and the UE,only includes the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio LinkControl (RLC) layer protocol, Media Access Control (MAC) layer protocol,and Layer 1 (L1) protocol; and/or does not include the Radio ResourceControl (RRC) layer protocol.

Compared with the prior art, the UE provided in the embodiment of thepresent invention can establish an RRC connection with a picocellthrough a macro base station, and establish a user plane connection withthrough the picocell RRC reconfiguration, so that the picocell sharesdata traffic of the macro base station; therefore, bandwidth andcapacity of mobile broadband communications are increased, and theoverall cost of the system is low.

FIG. 22 is a structural diagram of another UE according to an embodimentof the present invention. This embodiment includes the following.

A synchronization signal sending module 2201 is adapted to send asynchronization signal Preamble in a first message in an idle state,and/or a display indication sending module is adapted to send a displayindication using a simplified RRC procedure.

A response receiving module 2202 is adapted to receive indicationinformation about that the first signaling radio bearer SRB 1 and/orsecond signaling radio bearer SRB 2 does not need to be reestablished ormodified in the second message.

An instruction receiving module 2203 is adapted to receive aninstruction that the UE accesses a network.

The UE provided in the embodiment of the present invention enables,through sending a Preamble, the small cell to learn whether a UE needsto reestablish or modify an SRB 1 and/or SRB 2, if it is determined not,receive a response that the SRB 1 and/or SRB 2 does not need to bereestablished or modified and an instruction for the UE to access anetwork, so that the procedure of establishing an SRB 1 and/or SRB 2 isomitted and cost is lowered. The UE then accesses the network throughthe small cell to share data traffic with the macro base station, sothat bandwidth and capacity of mobile broadband communications areincreased.

FIG. 23 is a structural diagram of a wireless broadband communicationsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thisembodiment includes the following.

A small cell 2301 is adapted to: establish a Radio Resource Control(RRC) connection with a user equipment UE through a macro base station;receive a configuration message sent, through a wired or wirelessinterface, by a macro base station after the first connectionestablishment module has established the RRC connection; and establish auser plane connection between the small cell and a UE based on the RRCconnection and the configuration message received by the configurationmessage receiving module, and establish a data bearer with the UE on theuser plane connection.

A base station 2302 is adapted to establish a Radio Resource Control(RRC) connection with a UE; send an RRC reconfiguration message to theUE through a wireless interface after a second connection establishmentmodule has established the RRC connection, and send a configurationmessage to a small cell through a wired or wireless interface, so thatthe small cell establishes a user plane connection with the UE.

The small cell in the embodiment of the present invention may be thesmall cell described in the corresponding embodiment in FIG. 18. Themacro base station in the embodiment of the present invention can be themacro base station described in the corresponding embodiment in FIG. 20.The UE in the embodiment of the present invention can be the UEdescribed in the corresponding embodiment in FIG. 21.

Compared with the prior art, in the system provided in the embodiment ofthe present invention, a small cell may establish a Radio ResourceControl (RRC) connection with a user equipment (UE) through a macro basestation, and the macro base station then configures the small cell, sothat the procedure of establishing an RRC connection with a UE isomitted and cost is lowered. Next, the small cell establishes a databearer with the UE to share data traffic with the macro base station, sothat bandwidth and capacity of mobile broadband communications areincreased.

FIG. 24 is a structural diagram of another wireless broadbandcommunication system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. This embodiment includes the following.

A small cell 2401 is adapted to receive a synchronization signalPreamble sent in a first message by a UE in an idle state, where thesmall cell determines that the Preamble is a dedicated Preamble; and/ora display indication receiving module is adapted to receive a displayindication using a simplified RRC procedure; respond in a second messageindication information about that a first signaling radio bearer SRB 1and/or second signaling radio bearer SRB 2 does not need to bereestablished or modified; and instruct the UE to access a networkthrough the small cell.

A user equipment 2402 is adapted to send a synchronization signalPreamble in a first message in an idle state, and/or a displayindication sending module is adapted to send a display indication usinga simplified RRC procedure; receive indication information about thatthe first signaling radio bearer SRB 1 and/or second signaling radiobearer SRB 2 does not need to be reestablished or modified in a secondmessage; and receive an instruction that the UE accesses a networkthrough the small cell.

In the system provided in the embodiment of the present invention, asmall cell learns whether a UE needs to reestablish or modify an SRB 1and/or SRB 2 through determining a Preamble sent by a UE, if it isdetermined not, directly responds that the SRB 1 and/or SRB 2 does notneed to be reestablished or modified, and instructs the UE to access anetwork, so that the procedure of establishing an SRB 1 and/or SRB 2 isomitted and cost is lowered. The UE then accesses a network through thesmall cell to share data traffic with the macro base station, so thatbandwidth and capacity of mobile broadband communications are increased.

FIG. 25 is a flow chart of another wireless broadband communicationmethod according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thisembodiment includes:

Step 2501. A macro base station establishes a Radio Resource Control(RRC) connection with a UE.

Step 2502. The macro base station sends an RRC reconfiguration messageto the UE through a wireless interface after establishing the RRCconnection, and sends a configuration message to a small cell through awired or wireless interface, so that the small cell establishes a userplane connection with the UE.

In the method in the embodiment of the present invention, that a macrobase station sends an RRC reconfiguration message to a UE through awireless interface after establishing an RRC connection, and sends aconfiguration message to a small cell through a wired or wirelessinterface, so that the small cell establishes a user plane connectionwith the UE may include: sending the RRC reconfiguration message to theUE through a wireless interface after the RRC connection has beenestablished, and sending user plane protocol configuration informationthrough a wired or wireless interface, so that the small cellestablishes the user plane connection with the UE; or sending the RRCreconfiguration message to the UE through a wireless interface after theRRC connection has been established, and sending secondary componentcarrier SCC configuration information through a wired or wirelessinterface, so that the small cell establishes the user plane connectionwith the UE.

In the method in the embodiment of the present invention, the wiredinterface may include a random one of or a random combination of severalof the following: an S1 interface between a base station and a mobilitymanagement entity (MME), an X2 interface between base stations, a commonpublic radio interface (CPRI), and an Iub interface between a wirelessnetwork controller and a base station.

The wireless interface may include: a Uu interface between a basestation and a UE and/or a microwave interface for base stationtransmission.

In the macro base station in the embodiment of the present invention,the configuration message sending module may be further adapted to: sendallocation information of a static or semi-static configurationresource; and send resource allocation information for random access onthe static or semi-static configuration resource or resource allocationinformation for random access and data scheduling.

The method in the embodiment of the present invention may furtherinclude the following.

Step 2503. Receive an application for a static or semi-staticconfiguration resource from the small cell; or receive an instruction ofhanding over the UE to the macro base station.

Compared with the prior art, in the method provided in the embodiment ofthe present invention, a macro base station can establish an RRCconnection between a UE and a picocell, and then configures a smallcell, so that the picocell establishes a data bearer with the UE, andthe picocell shares data traffic with the macro base station; therefore,bandwidth and capacity of mobile broadband communications are increased,and overall cost of the system is low.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart of another wireless broadband communicationmethod according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thisembodiment includes the following.

Step 2601. A UE establishes a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connectionwith a macro base station.

Step 2602. Receive an RRC reconfiguration message sent by the macro basestation to the UE after the UE has established the RRC connection.

Step 2603. The UE establishes a user plane connection with the smallcell based on the RRC reconfiguration message, and establishes a databearer with the small cell on the user plane connection.

In the method in the embodiment of the present invention, a protocolstack of an air interface between the small cell and the UE, onlyincludes the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control(RLC) layer protocol, Media Access Control (MAC) layer protocol, andLayer 1 (L1) protocol; and/or does not include the Radio ResourceControl (RRC) layer protocol.

Compared with the prior art, in the method provided in the embodiment ofthe present invention, the UE can establish an RRC connection with apicocell through a macro base station, and then establish a user planeconnection with the picocell through RRC reconfiguration, so that thepicocell shares data traffic with the macro base station, bandwidth andcapacity of mobile broadband communications are increased, and overallcost of the system is low.

Through the above description of the implementation, it is clear topersons skilled in the art that the present invention may beaccomplished through hardware, or through software plus a necessaryuniversal hardware platform. Based on this, the technical solutions ofthe present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product.The software product may be stored in one nonvolatile storage medium(for example, CD-ROM, USB flash drive, or removable hard disk) andcontain several instructions adapted to instruct computer equipment (forexample, a personal computer, a server, or network equipment) to performthe method according to the embodiments of the present invention.

It should be understood by persons skilled in the art that theaccompanying drawings are merely schematic diagrams of a preferredembodiment, and modules or processes in the accompanying drawings arenot necessarily required in implementing the present invention.

It should be understood by persons skilled in the art that, modules in adevice according to an embodiment may be distributed in the device ofthe embodiment according to the description of the embodiment, or becorrespondingly changed to be disposed in one or more devices differentfrom this embodiment. The modules of the above embodiment may becombined into one module, or further divided into a plurality ofsub-modules.

The sequence numbers in the embodiments of the present invention are fordescription only and do not represent preferences for embodiments.

The above descriptions are merely specific embodiments of the presentinvention, but not intended to limit the present invention. Anymodification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made by personsskilled in the art that should fall within the protection scope of thepresent invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, by a first basestation, a configuration message from a second base station through awired or wireless interface, wherein the configuration message comprisesuser plane protocol configuration information; configuring, by the firstbase station, a radio resource according to the configuration message;and establishing, by the first base station, a connection that carriesuser traffic between the first base station and a user equipment (UE)based on the user plane protocol configuration information and the radioresource, wherein the connection comprises one or more data bearersbetween the first base station and the UE, wherein the one or more databearers transmit user data between the UE and a core network (CN)element.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein after establishingthe one or more data bearers, the method further comprises: receiving,by the first base station, the user data being transmitted between theUE and the CN element; and transmitting, by the first base station, theuser data directly to the CN element using the one or more data bearers.3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wired interface is an X2interface between the first base station and the second base station;and wherein the wireless interface comprises a microwave interfacebetween the first base station and the second base station.
 4. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein a protocol stack of an airinterface between the first base station and the UE comprises a PacketData Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer protocol, a Radio Link Control(RLC) layer protocol, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer protocol, aLayer 1 (L1) protocol, and a radio resource control (RRC) layerprotocol.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first basestation comprises: a picocell (Pico), a femtocell (Femto), a lowmobility cell (LoMo), a local wireless access point (AP), a UE having adevice-to-device (D2D) function, or a low power node.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein after establishing the one or more databearers with the UE for the connection, the method further comprises:receiving, by the first base station, the user data that is beingtransmitted between the UE and the CN element; and transmitting, by thefirst base station, the user data through the second base station to theCN element.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a protocol stackof an air interface between the first base station and the UE onlycomprises a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer protocol, aRadio Link Control (RLC) layer protocol, a Media Access Control (MAC)layer protocol, and a Layer 1 (L1) protocol.
 8. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the configuration message further comprises: allocationinformation for a static or semi-static configuration resource; andresource allocation information for random access on the static orsemi-static configuration resource, or resource allocation informationfor random access and data scheduling.
 9. The method according to claim8, further comprising: applying, by the first base station, for thestatic or semi-static configuration resource from the core networkelement; or instructing, by the first base station, the core networkelement to hand over the UE to the core network element; or adopting, bythe first base station, a dynamic scheduling manner for new access whereresource congestion occurs.
 10. An apparatus, comprising: a receiver,configured to receive a configuration message from a second base stationthrough a wired or wireless interface, wherein the configuration messagecomprises user plane protocol configuration information; and aprocessor, configured to: configure a radio resource according to theconfiguration message; and establish a connection that carries usertraffic between the apparatus and a user equipment (UE) based on theuser plane protocol configuration information and the radio resourcereceived by the receiver, wherein the connection comprises one or moredata bearers between the apparatus and the UE, and wherein the one ormore data bearers transmit user data between the UE and a core network(CN) element.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein thereceiver is further configured to: receive the user data that is beingtransmitted between the UE and the CN element; and wherein the apparatusfurther comprises a transmitter, and the transmitter is configured totransmit the user data directly to the CN element using the one or moredata bearers.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the wiredinterface is an X2 interface between the apparatus and the second basestation, and wherein the wireless interface comprises a microwaveinterface between the apparatus and the second base station.
 13. Theapparatus according to claim 10, wherein a protocol stack of an airinterface between the apparatus and the UE comprises a Packet DataConvergence Protocol (PDCP) layer protocol, a Radio Link Control (RLC)layer protocol, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer protocol, a Layer 1(L1) protocol, and a radio resource control (RRC) layer protocol. 14.The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a protocol stack of an airinterface between the apparatus and the UE only comprises a Packet DataConvergence Protocol (PDCP) layer protocol, a Radio Link Control (RLC)layer protocol, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer protocol, and a Layer1 (L1) protocol.
 15. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein theapparatus comprises: a picocell (Pico), a femtocell (Femto), a lowmobility cell (LoMo), a local wireless access point (AP), a UE having adevice-to-device (D2D) function, or a low power node.
 16. The apparatusaccording to claim 10, wherein the receiver is further configured to:receive the user data that is being transmitted between the UE and theCN element; and wherein the apparatus further comprises a transmitter,configured to transmit the user data through the second base station tothe CN element.
 17. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein theconfiguration message further comprises: allocation information for astatic or semi-static configuration resource; and resource allocationinformation for random access on the static or semi-static configurationresource, or resource allocation information for random access and datascheduling.
 18. The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:applying for a static or semi-static configuration resource from thecore network element; or instructing the core network element to handover the UE to the core network element; or adopting a dynamicscheduling manner for new access where resource congestion occurs.
 19. Anon-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for use by afirst base station for wireless broadband communication, wherein theprogram comprises instructions for: receiving a configuration messagefrom a second base station through a wired or wireless interface,wherein the configuration message comprises user plane protocolconfiguration information; configuring a radio resource according to theconfiguration message; and establishing a connection that carries usertraffic between the first base station and a user equipment (UE) basedon the user plane protocol configuration information and the radioresource, wherein the connection comprises one or more data bearersbetween the first base station and the UE, wherein the one or more databearers transmit user data between the UE and a core network (CN)element.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable medium according toclaim 19, wherein the program further comprise instructions for: afterestablishing the one or more data bearers with the UE for theconnection, receiving the user data that is being transmitted betweenthe UE and the CN element; and transmitting the user data directly tothe CN element using the one or more data bearers, or transmitting, theuser data through the second base station to the CN element.